Nemesis SC99 - Take Daly - Motorsport

And Repeat As Necessary For Mental Health

Do you tug on your spouse's sleeve and utter an appreciative yet unintelligible sound every time an in-car television camera shows what a race car driver is seeing? Have you always wanted to drive on a racetrack? Have you ever wondered what the drivers and team engineers find so interesting about a computer screen between qualifying laps?If you answered yes to these questions, you have a classic case of Racing lustus unrequietus, which can be treated only by going directly to Las Vegas, Nevada, and enrolling in a driving program at the Derek Daly Performance Driving Academy.Our readers often write us asking how to make their otherwise stock automobiles go faster, handle better, or stop quicker. Although we've never heard back from a reader to whom we've given this advice (the same we've proffered for years) it bears repeating and formal publication: Instead of spending money on equipment that could potentially hurt your car, its warranty, and possibly yourself, spend it on a legitimate driving school, and your car will suddenly possess radically new performance levels you never thought possible.This principle, as well as the one that says even professional drivers can use a recalibration once in a while to keep bad habits away, guided me to the Daly Academy for a three-day performance driving course at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.Derek Daly, a former Formula One and Indy Car driver himself, asked buddies Dan Gurney, Danny Sullivan, Gil DeFerran, Jimmy Vasser, Stefan Johansson, Scott Goodyear, and P.J. Jones what kind of school they'd like to attend. The result of their experience at his facility determined what is now the Academy's curriculum.The Daly Academy offers many programs ranging from a $475 half-day Formula car introduction to a full-blown $2895 four-day road racing school after which a student can earn an SCCA Regional racing license. It's also equipped to offer corporate programs tailored to the needs of groups from 12 to 200 people. I chose the three-day Formula race car school that gives students the most laps on the infield road course in a Nemesis Formula SC99 race car, and the opportunity to earn an SCCA license.So, what's it like? The program began with a classroom session that explained how to operate the vehicle, racing basics like choosing the best line around a track, proper race driving techniques such as "heel-toe" simultaneous braking and shifting, "trail braking" into a turn, and what behavior could be expected from the car, such as oversteer and understeer. That afternoon, students were fitted with fire-resistant driving suits and helmets and introduced to the race car that would be ours for the duration of the course. We were taken to the small "technique oval," where we practiced heel-toeing, trail-braking, and how to counter the effects of oversteer and understeer in a skid car specially prepared with hydraulic outriggers. It was quite a first day, and, to many, it would have been enough to write home about-but there was more.The second day began with a more detailed examination of the 1.1-mile, nine-turn race course with tried-and-true techniques for getting around as fast and as safely as possible. My instructor, Jeff Shafer, a Toyota Atlantic driver with numerous podium finishes, said, "Believe me. All the instructors [who are also active racers] have tried every possible line and technique to improve lap times on this track. If you can think it, we've tried it, and this is the fastest way around."